successfully for mayor of Chicago in 1977 following
the death of Richard J. Daley, whose political ma-
chine controlled the city for decades. Washington
was committed to Daley early in his career but later
earned a reputation for independence. The socio-
economic interests of African Americans were cen-
tral to Washington’s agenda, and he built a power
base among voters neglected by Chicago’s political
establishment.
As a U.S. representative from the first congressio-
nal district from 1980 to 1983, Washington opposed
President Ronald Reagan’s policies before leaving
Congress reluctantly to mount a second mayoral
bid. Despite his achievements and experience, Wash-
ington was an underdog in the Democratic primary
against incumbent Jane Byrne and Richard M. Daley,
the late mayor’s son. Washington’s opponents raised
ethical questions about his law practice and a short
jail term that he had served for income tax evasion
in 1971. Washington was a charismatic campaigner,
however, and benefited from high African Ameri-
can voter registration and dissatisfaction with Byrne.
After a difficult primary victory, Washington en-
dured a general election filled with attacks on him
and his supporters. White voters who had been life-
long Democrats rejected Washington and bluntly
expressed racial motivations for voting for Republi-
can Bernard Epton.
Washington took office in April, 1983, after receiv-
ing almost 100 percent of Chicago’s African Ameri-
can votes and barely 12 percent of its white votes. His
agenda met fierce resistance from members of Wash-
ington’s own party. The “Council Wars” of 1983-1986
pitted Washington against a mostly white group of
Democrats who held the majority of seats on Chi-
cago’s city council and created a virtual stalemate
until late in his first term. Washington’s progress in
bringing diversity to his city’s government and im-
proving public transportation and conditions in ur-
ban neighborhoods carried him to a second term in
1987, but he died after serving just seven months.
Impact Harold Washington’s struggles and suc-
cesses in Chicago’s tough political climate made him
the most important African American elected offi-
cial of the 1980’s. The racial divisions of Washing-
ton’s campaigns and terms in office highlighted sim-
ilar events in national politics as large numbers of
white Democrats defected to the Republican Party
in the 1980’s.
Further Reading
Rivlin, Gary.Fire on the Prairie: Chicago’s Harold Wash-
ington and the Politics of Race. New York: Henry
Holt, 1992.
Young, Henry J.The Black Church and the Harold Wash-
ington Stor y: The Man, the Message, the Movement.
Bristol, Ind.: Wyndham Hall, 1988.
Ray PenceSee also African Americans; Jackson, Jesse; Racial
discrimination; Reagan, Ronald; Reagan Democrats.Water pollution
Definition Decline in water quality resulting from
biological, chemical, or thermal agents
Although the United States made progress in dealing with
water pollution during the 1980’s, the issue was not a high
priority for the Reagan administration. In addition to con-
cern with surface water, some Americans began to register
increasing concern for the quality and quantity of water
available from underground aquifers during the decade.
Congress had set standards for water quality in 1972
with amendments to the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (FWPCA), a 1948 law. This legislation
set water quality standards for a variety of chemical,
biological, and thermal pollutants and prescribed
standards for the treatment and pretreatment of in-
dustrial and municipal wastes. The Federal Water
Pollution Control Act Amendments (FWPCAA) also
indicated that by 1985 the country should achieve a
zero discharge standard of wastes into water sources.
By 1977, however, it had already become evident that
this standard was unachievable, and so the standard
was modified to the best level possible.
The construction during the 1970’s of new mu-
nicipal wastewater treatment plants, often with fed-
eral assistance, led to improvements in water quality
by the early 1980’s. Discharge from municipal sew-
age treatment plants or industrial sites is referred to
as point pollution, as it is emitted at a specific point
and the discharge can be monitored. Another form
of point pollution occurs when water is drawn from a
body of water, used for cooling, and then returned to
the body of water. Thermal pollution, such as that
occurring when water is used for cooling in nuclear
reactors, can produce “hot” spots in rivers or lakes
when the water is returned. The application of fed-1030 Water pollution The Eighties in America